Personal Mastery of Systems Thinking

Personal Mastery of Systems Thinking

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Personal Mastery and Systems Thinking in Education Nickelette L. Parrish Brandman University College In partial fulfillment of the requirements for OLCU 602 Dr. Kandy Simmons December 9th, 2012 Introduction There is a great deal for any organization to learn, and it all must happen among the individuals of that organization. As Peter Senge points out in, The Fifth Discipline, (2006), organizations learn only through individuals who learn. Individual learning does not necessarily equal organizational learning, but without individual learning then there is a definite that organizational learning will not occur (Senge, 2006).

In this paper I will discuss the disciplines of organizational learning according to Peter Senge. Moreover, my company of choice in this discussion is education practices in the school system. There seems to be a wide range of learning opportunities in which most people desire for students. These opportunities engage students in experiencing, creating, and solving real problems, using their own experiences, and working with others – is for some reason denied to teachers when they are the learners. Personal mastery is a way teachers can influence these opportunities.

Personal mastery can be described as a way for one to approach their own life as a creative work, and living from a creative viewpoint rather than a reactive viewpoint (Senge, 2006). Although the restructuring of schools and the problems of changing school cultures is a never ending cycle, it is still widely accepted that staff learning takes place primarily at a series of workshops, at a conference, or with the help of a long-term consultant. One way of inhibiting personal mastery is through staff learning.

The conventional view of staff development as a transferable package of knowledge to be distributed to teachers in bite-sized pieces needs radical rethinking. It implies a limited conception of teacher learning that is out of step with current research and practice. Personal Mastery In order for educational staff to develop skills when entertaining personal mastery, they must understand that personal mastery becomes a discipline (Senge, 2006). One of the obstacles in personal mastery is that when we focus too much attention on problems in our path, we lose sight of the path we were on to begin with (Senge, 2006).

This is an important understanding for teachers to be aware of when wanting to obtain personal mastery. Without this awareness an inaccurate view of what is really important to us can be developed (Senge, 2006). However, people who have obtained a higher level of personal mastery are in a constant state of learning. Unfortunately, teachers are often informed that their student’s comprehension of teaching and learning capabilities are of greater value than their own knowledge gained from daily instruction.

This is an unfair accusation and will have negative consequences primarily because how can teachers develop their learning and transfer it onto their students if they feel there is no value in it. Personal mastery is a very important skill for teachers to be aware of and develop in because the entire organization and student body will grow from this. An organization that has taken the stance of personal mastery has fully committed itself to the well-being of its people (Senge, 2006).

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This is especially true for teacher/student environments.

The only way we can develop a sense of personal mastery is to understand what it is and proceed with it as a discipline (Senge, 2006). This type of development for teachers will enable them to pass on these invaluable skills to their students. One of the ways teachers can develop their personal mastery is through personal vision. Personal vision comes from within (Senge, 2006). As we grow as individuals and start to expand our personal vision, we all ourselves to not be limited to goals and objectives (Senge, 2006).

There is nothing wrong with goals and objectives, but if our focus is only on these and without vision then we do not grow in our personal mastery. Real vision cannot be understood in isolation from the idea of purpose (Senge, 2006). In other words, an individual’s vision will only have meaning if the purpose of the vision is understood and thought to be of value. Purpose without vision has no sense of appropriate scale (Senge, 2006). Students today live in challenging times with tough choices, absent parents, peer pressure, personal insecurities, crippling performance trap, inferiority complex etc.

It’s not uncommon for many of them to face depression, low self-esteem and even manifest their inner world fears through risky behaviors (Khoo, 2010). Below are some of the ways personal mastery can be attained by students. This development will lead to build a strong foundation in boosting self-awareness and self-management, by improving self-image, building friendships, resisting peer pressure and achieving goals (Khoo, 2010). 1. Jumpstart! Starting Secondary School Life Right – Empowering students with the mindset to not just survive the transition, but to excel in their secondary school life (Khoo, 2010).. Beauty and Hero – Empowering students with the awareness, skills and courage to overcome negative stereotyping, sexism, corruptive media, smoking, peer pressure and casual relationship attitude (Khoo, 2010). 3. Resilience – Empowering students to overcome life’s inevitable stress and setbacks arising from academic performance, high achievement standards, peer pressure and family issues (Khoo, 2010). 4. Life Mastery – Empowering students with positive habits, self-awareness, and the will to set clear outcomes for themselves towards achieving excellence in whatever they do (Khoo, 2010). 5.

Time Wise – Empowering students to overcome procrastination, to prioritize, multi-tasks and to prioritize (Khoo, 2010). 6. TetraMap Profiling – Empowering students with a learning model to understand themselves and how to relate to others (Khoo, 2010). 7. Time-out Intervention Program – Empowering At-Risk students through a proven intensive 6 weeks indoor and outdoor rigorous, progressive and integrated approach, which builds both character and cognitive competencies (Khoo, 2010). Due to the fact that the modern day school reform is more focused on fundamental issues of teaching and teacher learning, then the introduction f the personal mastery concept is within line. Students of personal mastery see that there are great opportunities to improve their growth (Khoo, 2010). Students recognize that there are many avenues for growth and opportunities like books, tapes, lectures and school courses. People also benefit from organizations during their quest for personal mastery (Khoo, 2010). The process of restructuring schools places demands on the whole organization that make it imperative that individuals

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redefine their work in relation to the way the entire school works.

In any organization thriving to learn, the requirement of true awareness in all of its’ members to see themselves as continual learners working toward personal mastery. The issue here is that as people develop new skills and gain competence, it is more and more difficult for these people to transition into different positions which would allow them to grow and evolve further. The idea of complacency becomes apparent. This is where teachers must teach students how to avoid this tendency for complacency.

There are many schools that set outcomes intended to recognize and celebrate diversity as a value in their learning communities, but they may not learn capably enough how to make use of personal mastery. This is exactly why full awareness into the stages of personal mastery is needed to be taught. The ability to learn from our experience represents an aspect of what Senge calls personal mastery. Personal mastery is a discipline by which people constantly clarify and develop their personal visions — the results they want.

They objectively review the reality of their experience and focus their energy on attaining the results they seek. People achieving personal mastery consistently realize the results that matter most to them because they commit to their own learning, including learning the right lessons from their experiences (Khoo, 2010). Systems Thinking Social systems such as a school are usually described as open systems. Katz and Kahn (1966) have defined the attributes of an open system. Energy is transformed, and something new is produced.

A product is exported into the environment. The pattern of energy exchange is cyclical; the product that is exported into the environment is the source of energy for repetition of the cycle of activities. The system aims to “maximize its ratio of imported to expended energy. ” The system exhibits differentiation, a tendency toward increased complexity through specialization. In addition to the degree of openness, systems are also characterized by three important concepts: hierarchy, homeostasis, and purposiveness (Katz; Kahn, 1996).

As far as education is concerned, systems thinking introduces a new way of thinking. In order for it to work properly, educators have to withhold their assumptions and stereotypes and develop a viewpoint from a different angle. By this I mean they must look students and teachers in an integral system, and how each operates through each other. Systems thinking will offer a different point of view and will encourage one to take a step and see the whole picture for what is really involved, rather than just a small part. It is an attempt to see the sky as well as the clouds.

There is interdependency among teachers and students, but through systems thinking we can explore how these interdependencies connect with one another. Children are rather simple to teach systems thinking too. They try to understand the meaning behind why things happen the way they do. If educators can instill a systems thinking mindset into young children, they can carry this through all their lives. It is especially important to encourage students to monopolize on their early systems thinking tendencies.

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This lesson will enhance their ability in dealing with many more complex and difficult systems down the road.

This will help them learn decision making skills. If students are fully aware and understand the underlying system structure of the subject they are learning they will develop a deep understanding of that subject and into other subjects as well. It may be difficult at first for educators to teach children about systems thinking, but the reward will be a life-long. This is the case not only for the student, or the teacher, but for the society around. Conclusion Peter Senge presents several ideas in the learning process, particularly in an organization, that which can help us grow in ways we never thought possible.

If we are aware of how we visualize ourselves both personally, and within an organization, we will develop a greater understanding about our own lives and how to contribute to the lives of others. Personal mastery and systems thinking are two great ways we can become open minded and pursue a path contributing to the world around us. We can develop individually by this thinking, but also contribute to others growing as individuals, or enabling an organization to prosper without skewed perceptions and opinions.

References Katz, D., and R. L. Kahn. (1996). “Common Characteristics of Open Systems. ” In Systems Thinking, edited by F. E. Emery. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books Ltd. Khoo, A. (2010). What is personal mastery. Retrieved December 8th, 2012, from http:/www. empoweringyouth. com. sg/educators/life-skills-communications/personal-mastery-school-workshop Senge, P. (2006). Fifth discipline the art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday/Currency.

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